What We Might Not See Otherwise...

Hubble's-eye View of the Heavens

airing out
—dawn di bartolo, citrus heights

spring slips thru open windows,
scents the air to undress winter.
bbq grills demand attention.
friends hug comfortably, hold
tightly to years shared
knowing each other.
skin greets sunshine
with a shedding of clothes.

children squeal with delight
as thawed little limbs
remember run & jump,
and giggles carry beautifully
in the breeze.

the pool looks enticing, but
“you know it ain’t warm
enough to swim.” I agree,
making plans for future strokes.
heat stings more than the air.

vodka, cran and laughter
but we don’t burn the chicken
this time, and the only man
praises his only woman,
“good job, baby.” winter
was not kind to them ~ any of us,
but the sun will shine again.

__________________

Thanks to Dawn Di Bartolo for today's poems (watch for a rattlechap from Dawn-D next Fall), and to Tom Goff for his take on our Seed of the Week: The Clerihew [see Tuesday's post]. Tom's new rattlechap, Sinfonietta, is now available at The Book Collector or [soon] from rattlesnakepress.com/. I notice that some other rattlechappers are reading this weekend: Danyen Powell [Anvil; Blue Sky Flies Out] and Katy Brown [too numerous to mention!]. Plus Joe and Susan Finkleman [Poems in Two Voices; plus Susan has a rattlechap coming out in the Fall] will have a booth at the Multicultural Arts Festival at Fremont Park in Sacramento on Saturday, where you can find lovely cards and 8x10's of Joe's images suitable for framing, as well as their poetry CDs. Check out the calendar below; it's a VERY busy weekend!

And thanks to the Hubble telescope (and its intrepid fixers!) for showing us things we would never have seen, otherwise...


This weekend in NorCal poetry:

•••Friday (5/15): Deadline for Issue #22 of Rattlesnake Review. Send 3-5 poems, smallish art pieces and/or photos (no bio, no cover letter, no simultaneous submissions or previously-published poems) to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. E-mail attachments are preferred, but be sure to include all contact info, including snail address. Meanwhile, the snakes of Medusa are always hungry; let us know if your submission is for the Review or for Medusa, or for either one, and please—only one submission per issue.

•••Friday (5/15), 7:30 PM: The Other Voice (sponsored by the UU Church of Davis) proudly presents two local poets: Danyen Powell and Dr. Andy Jones. [See last Monday's post for bios.] The Other Voice meets in the library of the Church located at 27074 Patwin Road. Open Mike and refreshments follow the reading, so bring along a poem or two to share. This will be the last reading in this series until September.

•••Friday (5/15): Please note, there will be no Poetry at Raven's Tale this month. The next scheduled reading is Aug. 21, featuring Susan and Joe Finkleman.

•••Sat. (5/16), 11-2 PM: Together with Friends of Fremont Park, CADA, and city councilman Rob Fong, Sacramento Poetry Center is co-hosting the first annual Multicultural Children's Literary Arts Festival in Fremont Park (16th & P Sts., Sacramento) this Saturday. Come lend a hand, paint a picture, help write a poem, join in the dance...! For a schedule of events, click on the Sacramento Poetry Center link to the right of this column.

•••Saturday (5/16), 7-9 PM: The Underground Poetry Series features Supanova, The Saint and Miles Miniaci, plus open mic. Underground Books, 2814 35th St. (35th & Broadway), Sac. $3. Info: Terry Moore at 916-455-POET.

•••Sat. (5/16), 1 PM: Gillian Wegener and Lee Herrick will present a free poetry reading at the McHenry Museum, 1402 “I” St., Modesto. Light refreshments will be served. Info: Gillian Wegener (wegenerspage@yahoo.com) or Cleo Griffith, (209) 543-1776. [See last Monday's post for bios.]

•••Saturday (5/16), 7-9 PM: The Underground Poetry Series features Supanova, The Saint and Miles Miniaci, plus open mic. Underground Books, 2814 35th St. (35th & Broadway), Sac. $3. Info: Terry Moore at 916-455-POET.

•••Sat. (5/16), 10 AM: Writers of the New Sun/Escritores del Nuevo Sol have a new meeting date: the 3rd Saturday of each month. The potluck meetings are at La Raza Galeria Posada, 1024 22nd St., Sacramento. Call ahead for info or to confirm: 916-456-5323. Members of all skill levels support each other via readings, exercises, critiques and information, writing in English, Spanish or both.

•••Sat. (5/16—and every third Sat.), 7 PM: Celebration of Word, Sound and Paint at Carol’s Books features Straight Out Scribes (yes, Staajabu is in town!), 1913 Del Paso Blvd., Sacramento.

•••Sat. (5/16), 9 AM-Noon: Poetry Publishing Workshop with CB ('Lyn) Follett, Rebecca Foust, and Susan Terris at Falkirk Cultural Center in Marin County. This workshop will give tips and strategies for getting your poems published in journals and magazines; handling submissions without wasting writing time; the value (or not) of poetry contests; the do's and don'ts of cover letters; tracking submissions; choosing the right places to submit; and dealing with rejections. Bring your current cover letters for advice. If time permits, the workshop will close with a brief discussion about how to position yourself for the next challenge—publishing your book or chapbook of poems. Info: Susan Terris: SDT11@aol.com/ or Rebecca Foust, PO Box 399, Ross, CA 94957 (www.rebeccafoust.com).

•••Sunday (5/17), 3-5 PM: Poets Club of Lincoln presents poet/photographer Katy Brown and an Open Mic at Twelve Bridges Library in Lincoln.

__________________

Fanny Brawne,
swift as dawn,
bundled John Keats,
when outdoors, in coats; when indoors, in sheets.

—Tom Goff, Carmichael

__________________

the night she left, and days of aftermath
—dawn di bartolo

in the dark hours
of february, night
claimed a star;
enveloped by blackness,
she shone. at least,
this is my hope…

bitter cold wheezed
thru an unsealed window,
the white sill completely
contradictory to touch,
innocence cut away
by the blade of a razor:
dead stop…

my heart froze,
exploded back
to shattered beating,
once i saw the note:
hell haphazardly realigned
to perpetuity. feet wouldn’t move.

astonished, i watched the sun rise,
encircle the stillness of my
immobilized world
several times before i realized that…
enveloped by blackness,
i had managed to shine.

__________________

thieves
—dawn di bartolo

snuck to steal
some sun, fraying
from an april
sky, spring
clinging to winter
and menthol clouds.
had to hug myself close,
brace against the breeze,
forgetting to breathe
between puffs. seems
stability is
not so easily attained.

__________________

Giant Disk of Cold Gas and Dust Fuels
Possible Black Hole at the Core of NGC 4261
Credit: Walter Jaffe/Leiden Observatory,
Holland Ford/JHU/STScI, and NASA

__________________

Today's LittleNip:

Poetry is a search for syllables to shoot at the barriers of the unknown and the unknowable.

—Carl Sandburg

__________________


—Medusa



SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:

Rattlesnake Review: The latest Snake (RR21) is now available (free) at The Book Collector, or send me four bux and I'll mail you one. Next deadline is May 15 for RR22: send 3-5 poems, smallish art pieces and/or photos (no bio, no cover letter, no simultaneous submissions or previously-published poems) to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. E-mail attachments are preferred, but be sure to include all contact info, including snail address. Meanwhile, the snakes of Medusa are always hungry; let us know if your submission is for the Review or for Medusa, or for either one, and please—only one submission per issue.

Also available (free): littlesnake broadside #46: Snake Secrets: Getting Your Poetry Published in Rattlesnake Press (and lots of other places, besides!): A compendium of ideas for brushing up on your submissions process so as to make editors everywhere more happy, thereby increasing the likelihood of getting your poetry published. Pick up a copy at The Book Collector or write to me and I'll send you one. Free!

WTF!: Join us on Thursday, May 21 at Luna's Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sacramento for the unveiling of the second issue of WTF, the free quarterly journal from Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe that is edited by frank andrick. Next deadline, for issue #3, is July 15. Submission guidelines are the same as for the Snake, but send your poems, photos, smallish art or prose pieces (500 words or less) to fandrickfabpub@hotmail.com (attachments preferred) or, if you’re snailing, to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. And be forewarned: this publication is for adults only, so you must be over 18 years of age to submit. Copies of the first issue are at The Book Collector, or send me two bux and I'll mail you one.

ALSO NEW FOR MAY: A new rattlechap, Sinfonietta, from Tom Goff; Vol. 5 of Conversations, the Rattlesnake Interview Series by B.L. Kennedy; and the inauguration of a new series, Rattlesnake LittleBooks, with Shorts: Quatrains and Epigrams by Iven Lourie. Now available at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, or from the authors, or [soon] from rattlesnakepress.com/.

COMING IN JUNE: Walt Whitman Orders a Cheeseburger, a rattlechap by Bob Stanley; Mandoria: A Prelude, a littlesnake broadside from frank andrick, and a brand-new issue of Rattlesnake Review! All at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, 7:30, on Wednesday, June 10. Free!


Medusa's Weekly Menu:

(Contributors are welcome to cook up something for any and all of these!)

Monday: Weekly NorCal poetry calendar

Tuesday: Seed of the Week: Tuesday is Medusa's day to post poetry triggers such as quotes, forms, photos, memories, jokes—whatever might tickle somebody's muse. Pick up the gauntlet and send in your poetic results; and don't be shy about sending in your own triggers, too! All poems will be posted and a few of them will go into Medusa's Corner of each Rattlesnake Review. Send your work to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. No deadline for SOWs; respond today, tomorrow, or whenever the muse arrives. (Print 'em out, maybe, save 'em for a dry spell?) When you send us work, though, just let us know which "seed" it was that inspired you.

Wednesday (sometimes, or any other day!): HandyStuff Quickies: Resources for the poet, including whatever helps ease the pain of writing and/or publishing: favorite journals to read and/or submit to; books, etc., about writing; organizational tools—you know—HandyStuff! Tell us about your favorite tools.

Thursday: B.L.'s Drive-Bys: Micro-reviews by our irreverent Reviewer-in-Residence, B.L. Kennedy. Send books, CDs, DVDs, etc. to him for possible review (either as a Drive-By or in future issues of Rattlesnake Review) at P.O. Box 160664, Sacramento, CA 95816.

Friday: NorCal weekend poetry calendar

Daily (except Sunday): LittleNips: SnakeFood for the Poetic Soul: Daily munchables for poetic thought, including short paragraphs, quotes, wonky words, silliness, little-known poetry/poet facts, and other inspiration—yet another way to feed our ravenous poetic souls.

And poetry! Every day, poetry from writers near and far and in-between! The Snakes of Medusa are always hungry.......!

_________________

Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their POETRY, PHOTOS and ART, as well as announcements of Northern California poetry events, to kathykieth@hotmail.com (or snail ‘em to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726) for posting on this daily Snake blog. Rights remain with the poets. Previously-published poems are okay for Medusa’s Kitchen, as long as you own the rights. (Please cite publication.) Medusa cannot vouch for the moral fiber of other publications, contests, etc. that she lists, however, so submit to them at your own risk. For more info about the Snake Empire, including guidelines for submitting to or obtaining our publications, click on the link to the right of this column: Rattlesnake Press (rattlesnakepress.com). And be sure to sign up for Snakebytes, our monthly e-newsletter that will keep you up-to-date on all our ophidian chicanery.